DOUBLE DIGITS Y’ALL! Quick tangent, if I may; I don’t ever use the word y’all, as I’m not from the south and I feel disingenuous using something that isn’t mine. In this moment, however, it felt appropriate. Should’ve subbed in “yinz”, but doesn’t seem to carry the same weigh. Shout out to my Piksburgh-ers.

Geographically created contractions aside, we’ve arrived. Day 10. Officially ⅓ behind us, and ⅔ ahead to knock us down and build us back up. On the knock down piece — let’s talk about how daunting is it to hear how catastrophically horrible Day 10 and 11 are for most Whole30-ers. As per usual, we started our morning off with our Mother Goose read aloud from Melissa Hartwig’s book of fortune telling. Here’s our not-so-metaphorical slap in the face for today:

“FACT: You are most likely to quit your Whole30 on Day 10 or 11. The newness of the program has worn off. You’ve experience lots of the negatives but have yet to see the “magic”.

Well crikey. I’m not sure which angle she’s taking — ‘I’m going to tell you your darkest days are before you in hopes you find comfort in your slow death’, or taunt you with the ultimate torture — Melissa Hartwig disappointment, which certainly comes along with a midway Whole30 bounce. With Melissa and I being besties and all, I clung to the latter of the two scenarios and buckled up for the ride. Committed, even more so, to crossing the finish line with all the magic I’ve been promised.

We wipe our fear tears away and continue the read. In the Day 10 “Hack” section, we learn a bit about treats and the importance of rewarding yourself along the way when you’re in the thick of new habit-setting behavior. To most of us, certainly myself included, treats are equated with some momentarily delicious, ingestible item. Complete random example — chocolate covered popcorn and prosecco (note to reader: this is not random by any means. It’s the dark magic that got me into this in the first place). She goes on to discuss ‘health-minded treats that don’t involve food’. Skeptical, but intrigued. This was something I could get behind.

By nature, I tend to believe that I’m inherently driven by joy seeking, and treat giving for that matter. So, I took this ‘treat-yo-self’ charge by the horns. Started today by reorienting my day-to-day behaviors to include some sort of tiny tweak to the routine — something to spark a small amount of joy. Now, in full transparency, it doesn’t take much for me on the unearthing joy front. I see a leaf tumble down the sidewalk and I’m nearly brought to tears (imagine what happens when I see a pretty sunset, a well-dressed child, literally any type of flower). A few things I did today in the name of health-minded, non-food, joy-bringing treats:

• We had blackberries with breakfast — instead of tossing them on the table in their plastic container, we went all Queen Elizabeth II with it (maybe because I’m mourning the show’s end in our household) — those babies made their way into a family heirloom crystal bowl for their morning debut. Raised our breakfast game, and made my heart happy.
• We live in a tiny one bedroom apt, so an office isn’t on the list of realistic dreams at the moment. Typically, when working from home, I hunker down on the floor behind my coffee table, get lost in my inbox, and hours later come to find my legs no longer work. Today, folks, today I changed the bad habit. Created myself a little desk by the window, complete with candles, succulents, and bottomless tea. Note my janky standing desk in the background — staring at a wall is the opposite of rejuvenating. The small adjustment in the day was SUCH a treat, and gave me the sense of renewal I needed as the Whole30 doomsday attempted to crush my survival instincts.
• I booked us a little getaway for this weekend. First up, a hike in one of our fave state parks followed by an evening at a local-ish B&B. Because Melissa gave me permission.
• Scheduled myself a hair appointment. Your girl hasn’t been in months. Today’s reorientation is just what I needed to pick up the phone and make it happen.

Not entirely sure my bank account is going to be as pleased with today’s treat-yo-self extravaganza as my mental health is … but shoot, today was a good day. So back off, responsibility.

But a short time ago, the below would’ve been the treatiest treat I could have ever dreamed. Today, I’ll stick with my window desk creation. And therein lies the transformative magic of just 10 sugar-free days.

Before we go … a quick throw back to the Day 8 post, this beaut showed up on Day 9. How ‘bout that. #signsdelivered

So, with that. Cheers to the Get Better journey. Bring it, Day 11.

p.s. if you haven’t already, give Tara’s Day 9 post a read — ’tis fantastic!